MESQUITE, Texas -- Carol Graham doesn’t know how her son does it. He never slows. When he comes home and takes her out to dinner, she tells herself not to talk too much because she knows he will finish quickly and want to get moving.

Always somewhere to go, always someone to see.

“That’s just the way he is,” Carol said.

It’s worked out well for Todd Graham.

Friday the second-year Arizona State coach returns home. The Sun Devils, ranked No. 22 in this week’s AP Top 25, will fly in and have a light practice at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, familiarizing themselves with the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

On Saturday they will play Notre Dame, a signature moment not only for the program but also for the coach.

Todd was raised about 30 miles from Arlington. He grew up a Cowboys fan, idolizing legendary coach Tom Landry. During high school, Todd worked as a security guard during Cowboys games at Texas Stadium, watching former ASU star Danny White, among others. He also worked for a company that painted parts of the old NFL stadium.

Later, Todd’s coaching career blossomed in Texas. He took over at Allen High in 1995, building the school into a perennial playoff contender over his six years as head coach.

“That was probably where I experienced the most growth,’’ Todd said. “It was big, big for me. I started coaching because coaches made the difference in my life because I didn’t have a dad in my life. That’s where I thought I’d be my whole career. I’ll always be an Allen Eagle. It was a very, very important place to me. It was a great experience. ”

Growing up in Mesquite, Todd developed a passion for sports, and for doing things a certain way.

“He’s always been picky about himself,” Carol said as she sat Thursday in her living room. “ … He was a kid that would go to school and come home, change his clothes. And I mean, he might change his clothes three or four times a day.”

Carol, 70, has lived in the same house for 52 years. She raised three boys and a daughter here, mostly by herself. She worked for AT&T and Hallmark, and at a uniform company and nursing home, doing whatever needed to provide for her family.

Growing up, Todd shared a room with a brother. The neighborhood was their playground. The Graham brothers played football and baseball at a field out back. They made a go-kart and hung out at a place they called “Motorcycle Hill.”

They fished in a creek three blocks from their house, using a bacon strip or biscuit for bait. Sometimes they pulled out crawdads.

And if it rained?

“They used to make these little things — they’d call ’em paper footballs,” Carol said. “They would get in the hall and play that, and with all of them in there it would just drive me nuts. Fighting. Always fighting.”

Yes, the Graham brothers got rough at times. Carol just recently ran into one of the old neighborhood kids who told her it was never fun starting trouble with one of her boys, because that meant you had to fight them all.

“They were always doing something,” Carol said. “They could run all day.”

She recognizes the same energy in Todd today.

“He’s aggressive, all right,” Carol said. “As you can see, that didn’t come from me.”

Other qualities — a disciplined nature and work ethic — might have. Carol had strict rules for her children, never hesitating to take away a privilege, such as use of the car. She recently told her granddaughter, who lives with her, “When I was going to school, I always wanted to make the best grades and do the best that I could, and I might not have made the best, but I was going to try.”

Todd doesn’t consider coaching work. It’s more like a passion to him, but the profession worries his mom just the same. It can be a nasty business, something the Graham family has experienced. When Todd left Pittsburgh after one season in 2011, notifying his team by text message, fans and media across the country criticized him.

“Oh, yes, that was hard,” said Carol, adding she was surprised Todd went there in the first place.

“But that’s what coaches have to do,” she said. “They have to move around to get a better job, and some people don’t like it. And that makes me feel bad. They say how terrible these coaches are. And I think, ‘If you have a better opportunity to get a better job, wouldn’t you take it?’ ’’

Carol also worries about the pressure to win, especially because the family has a history of heart trouble.

“There’s a lot of stress,” she said. “Just like that young man (USC coach Lane Kiffin) that got fired the other day. That stays in your mind all the time. You got to win. He usually has a good team, but you just never know.”

Carol talks often to Todd, sometimes through a simple text message. And when her son is recruiting in the area, he always stops by, taking her out to lunch.

Does she ever see him coming home for good?

“Oh, no,” Carol said. “The way he talks to me, he loves it there. He loves the mountains. He has a nice home he loves. … He says that’s where he’s going to stay. He’s happier there than I think he’s been anywhere. He was at Tulsa for a long time, but he always has this desire to do better.

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